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  engineer7 months, 1 week ago

  The five points the leaders are urged to include are:

  * Extension of unemployment benefits.

  * Increased food stamp benefits.

  * Tax rebates targeted to middle-income and lower-income taxpayers.

  * Fiscal relief for state and local governments to avoid the economically depressing effect of tax increases and budget cuts.

  * Acceleration of ready-to-go public investment in school renovations and bridge repair.

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    engineer7 months, 1 week ago

    What's not mentioned though are the trade deficit issues, not taxing the haves enough,addressing the overpricing in the health industry and creating a single payer health care system as there is in the 36 other countries with better health care.

    There are probably other things not mentioned. You can fill in the blanks.

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    AnteUp7 months, 1 week ago

    engineer ~

    I'll go back and read the article but, regarding your comment

    - the first two points listed:

    Expansion of unemployment benefits

    and increased food stamp benefits ...are NOT included.

    The announcement made with the Dems (that's my Dems - I'm sorry to say) noting that they did not get all they wanted.

    Those issues are fundamental to what we are supposed to stand for........Why didn't they fight?

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      engineer7 months, 1 week ago

      Because the obstructionist Republicanss will not let anything through

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  AnteUp7 months, 1 week ago

  Okay - Now I've read it and it IS a great article, Engineer.

  Obviously not everyone thinks the only way to get out of

  this mess and avoid a bigger one is more tax bennies for the

  mega-wealthy. The tax cuts for business are irritating.

  Have we not learned that trickle-down does NOT work.

  The idea that they will expand their businesses here is

  ludicrous - they will hire even more overseas! It's a

  giveaway - don't you think?

  Another question - FTA:

  "Acceleration of ready-to-go public investment in school

  renovations and bridge repair."

  "ready-to-go" public investment - what does that mean?

  If you can.........Thanks

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  ETproductions7 months ago

  Tax cuts for business are always a hard sell, but they are actually good for the economy.

  Here is a reductio ad absurdum about tax cuts for business. Let's take the corporate tax up to 100% of gross income and disallow ALL deductions. What would that do? It would offshore every job in America and throw this country into a depression that would make 1929 look like a walk in the park.

  When we tax US businesses, who pays? Up Exxon Mobil's tax rate. Does that eat into their 40 Billion dollar profit? NO. They up the price of gas. The consumer pays. Corporate taxes are just a way of duping the middle class into believing that the fat cats are paying their way. Nothing could be further from the case.

  You want to stimulate the US economy, switch the corporate tax burden to the upper income set and cut corporate taxes to zero. Likewise, allow quick amortization of corporate investments. Put Americans back to work.

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    browntiger7 months ago

    >You want to stimulate the US economy, switch the corporate

    >tax burden to the upper income set and cut corporate taxes to zero.

    We will see all kind of fraud. Money going to overseas blind trusts, hiring CEOs 2 y.o. sons/daughters , wife, etc etc etc. Companies paying for castles for upper management; making employees - "investors", and paying them dividends.

    I am not opposing tax cut for small businesses, corporate tax rate for offshorers - no.

    I like obamas idea of removing all tax breaks from offshorers and give them to small businesses; dump bushes taxcuts.

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      ETproductions7 months ago

      I'm with you on the off-shoring part. Tax the daylights out of businesses that offshore. Set the corporate tax rate proportional to the on-shore employment of people, not the total payroll.

      But hey, that torpedoes the Republican mantra of Free Trade. What it amounts to is an import duty, like we had all those years that the US was the most stable economy in the world. One more piece of evidence that when Republicans claim to have a better understanding of the economy, they forget to tell you the last little bit. They mean the economy of the Country Club set ONLY.

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        Teech7 months ago

        A few years ago, when some of the major airlines hit the economic bankruptcy wall, they were given some low interest rate guaranteed loans from the government. This was a good thing, and should have benefitted workers as a whole.

        So what happened to the money? After huge layoffs, the airlines outsourced their engine maintenance to South America and used the cash influx to fund upper management's retirement and golden parachute plans. CEO's got 100% to 200% pay increases for "saving" their airlines.

        The cash in the flight crew and mechanic's pension plans was legally stolen, divided up among upper management, and workers retirement was dumped into the government safety net "fund" where retirees got pennies on their hard-earned dollars....or they could keep on working at greatly reduced salaries until they were 70 to 80 years old.

        That's why I'm suspicious of the 50 billion grant to big business and corporations. Trickle down my ass!

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  AnteUp7 months ago

  ET ~

  Granted I don't understand a lot of what you are saying but

  the part about upping corporate taxes - in your case Exxon.

  They would just up the price of gas rather than give up their

  embarrassing profit percentage - what about government

  regultions on the price of gas? Isn't there a law about

  price gouging? Is there NO regulation - or am I just not

  being realistic? Don't they work?

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  TheRealizer7 months ago

  As long as tax breaks for out sourcing remain in effect there is little incentive to expand manufacturing in the U.S.ofA.

  Profits from offshore enterprises are banked in tax haven countries, and no taxes are collected..

  Keep voting for the same flock of politicians who have rewarded this practice, and the result will remain the same.

  You are watching the DEMISE of our republic, thanks to corporate ownership of our lawmaking and regulatory agencies!!!!

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